RNC Chair: GOPers Won’t Break Pledge, Chaos At Turkish Prez’s Speech, And Trump: I May Have ‘Misspoke’ On Abortion

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April 1, 2016

Top Stories


Trump: I May Have ‘Misspoke’ On Abortion But Question Was Convoluted

The Gist: Donald Trump on Thursday night acknowledged that he may have misspoken while discussing whether women who seek abortions should be punished if the procedure is banned.

RNC Chair Says GOPers Won’t Break Pledge: ‘It Doesn’t Work That Way’

The Gist: Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican National Committee, said on Thursday evening that he’s not concerned about the three remaining Republican presidential candidates’ comments suggesting they may break a pledge to support the eventual nominee.

Clinton Unloads: ‘I Am So Sick Of The Sanders Campaign Lying About Me’ (VIDEO) 

The Gist: Hillary Clinton appeared flustered Thursday when an attendee at a campaign event in New York state asked her if she would reject campaign donations from fossil fuel companies, responding by accusing rival Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) campaign of spreading “lies.”  

From The Reporter’s Notebook


Republican presidential candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich railed against GOP frontrunner Donald Trump on Thursday, claiming the real estate mogul was not qualified for the presidency, as TPM’s Sara Jerde wrote. Kasich also evoked the name of a popular reality star family when he said that the election would result in having a “less Kardashians” type of candidate. Kasich added that he didn’t have anything against the Kardashians.

Agree or Disagree?


Josh Marshall: “Does Donald Trump hate women? And I guess this begs the question of what is misogyny? I don’t want to put myself forward as an expert on the issue, for obvious reasons. But looking just at Trump’s case, it is not hatred of women per se but hatred of powerful women or female power itself that is the defining trait. In a society where women have become more powerful in all aspects of life for decades and where gender equality is a defining political issue, the distinction may be rather semantic. But this is about power and being out of place in the proper hierarchy of power which has Trump at the top at all times.” 

Say What?!


“You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday. … They are young black men, likely in their teens or in their early 20s. They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before. They’ve grown up there. They know the police. They’ve been arrested.”

– A local Pittsburgh news station fired Emmy-winning anchor Wendy Bell after she posted these racist comments about a recent shooting on Facebook.

BUZZING: Today in the Hive


From a TPM Prime member: “Our guns are not for protection in a “stand your ground” kind of way, but for rattlesnakes, etc., but like you, we are counted among the gun owners. I live in horse country and I’d bet that 90% of our neighbors have guns, regardless of their politics. There are also private gun clubs, ranges near us that people go to, none of them are in your face about the guns, no NRA stickers, no screaming about 2nd Amendment rights, etc. It’s their hobby, and an expensive one at that. Like most Americans, I support closing the gun show loopholes, waiting periods, background checks, I don’t think you have the right to carry on a plane (now even this is a thing among the fringe), that you don’t need large clips, more guns sure as hell aren’t needed in schools, etc., but I am in no means “anti-gun”. It’s odd, because of my politics people, including my sister that knows me well, thought I wanted to ban handguns, simply because I’m a liberal. It seems like another narrative out there that’s not quite right, though it has some kernels of truth.”

Related: Thoughts from a liberal gun nerd.

Have something to add? Become a Prime member and join the discussion here.

What We’re Reading


The U.S. is one of only 2 developed countries that allows drug companies to advertise products on television. (The Huffington Post)

It was total chaos outside a speech the Turkish president gave in Washington. (Buzzfeed)


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